Well if “Napoleon Dynamite” isn’t a hard film to pigeon-hole, I don’t know what is. I generally dread using the term ‘quirky’, but there are times and certain movies that cry out for it. Judging from the myriad of trailers I saw prior to its release, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It just seemed… odd, and I was hard pressed to figure out what the plot was. As it turns out, after watching the upcoming DVD release, “Napoleon Dynamite” was not only much funnier than I expected but I was still hard-pressed to figure out what the plot was. “Napoleon Dynamite”, which I missed in theatres, was one of those Independent Films that turned into a ‘sleeper’ hit. Made originally by director Jared Hess for just a few hundred thousand dollars, it went on to deliver box office gold. The audience built slowly, more out of curiosity I imagine, but once people saw it they either loved it or hated it. In my case, I loved it. There is little to the aforementioned plot, as the movie offers more of a ‘slice of life’ type of story.

A surreal ‘slice of life, to be sure, but one that those of us with a little bit of imagination can embrace.

Jon Heder stars as the title character, one of the geekiest characters ever, almost to the point of unreal (though I do have a friend I haven’t seen in 20 years who he kind of reminds me of). He is as honest as he is seemingly clueless, and lives on a farm with his uncle (Jon Gries) and his older brother (Aaron Ruell). He only has one friend (Efren Ramirez), and spends a good portion of his time unsuccessfully dodging bullies. Very little actually happens in the movie, with only some key moments standing out as a possible plot, but watching the bits and pieces of life through Napoleon’s eyes makes for an unusually satisfying experience.

The DVD adds to the ‘Napoleon’ experience by offering up a rather quiet commentary by Hess and Heder, who along with producer Jeremy Coon, discuss the film at length. Much like the movie, there is not a lot going on in the commentary, but when the three so chime in, the information definitely answers many of questions that you may (or may not have) had. You’ll also find some deleted scenes with commentary, MTV promos, a short featurette focusing on shooting one of the scenes, and a still gallery. Interestingly enough, Hess included his short film “Peluca.” Shot in Black and White and running a little under 9 minutes, it served as the inspiration for “Napoleon Dynamite”, even so far as to feature Heder as the same character. The short film also has its own commentary track by Hess, Heder and Coon.

The disc itself offers up the film in both Widescreen and Full-Screen (though why anyone would want to see any movie in Full Screen is beyond me…), and is double- sided. You have to flip the disc either way to catch all of the extra features.

“Napoleon Dynamite” is one of those films that I have to be very careful who I recommend it to. As silly as the movie appears on the surface, the underlying humor may only be caught by a few. It’s not for fans of big action movies, or those who enjoy brainless teen sex comedies. As a matter of fact, those who might expect “Napoleon Dynamite” to be the latter, will be surprised boy how relatively clean it is. I have to applaud Hess for creating a ‘thinking man’s’ teen comedy.

Directed by: Jared Hess
Starring: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino
Extras: Commentary by director/cowriter Jared Hess, producer Jeremy Coon, and actor Jon Heder, "Peluca": original short film with optional commentary, The Wedding of the Century: making-of featurette, Deleted scenes, Stills gallery
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) and Full Screen (1.33:1), English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Video
Release Date: 12/21/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG (For Thematic Elements and Language)
Website

We'll give Napoleon Dynamite an A.